Almost a decade since Alison Lee’s first Solheim Cup appearance, the American player will tee up at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club for a second time in the 43rd edition of the match from 13-15 September.
Lee's career so far has certainly been a roller coaster, from debuting on the LPGA Tour in 2015 and gaining a world ranking of 23, before falling to 353 in 2018. She has spoken publicly about her past struggles to find form, which almost led her to give up her professional career. But Lee bounced back, reaching a career-high world ranking of 20 in 2023, and she secured her place on the US Solheim Cup team through this year's Rolex World Rankings at No 26.
We had the opportunity to sit down with the 29-year-old Californian at the Aramco Team Series London to discuss the challenges she has faced, how she has dealt with them, and her Solheim Cup memories.
You've found good form this year, so where is your game at right now, and what are your goals for the future?
I feel like my game's in a good place, I just need one of those weeks where everything falls into place.This is my 10th year on tour and I feel like I’m at the point in my career where I really need to give it my all or nothing. Unfortunately, the reality of women's golf is that it's very young, it's not like the PGA Tour. If you look at the rankings, the top 20 or top 30 in the world, there's only a very, very small number that are over the age of 35. I'm 29, so the reality is, as much as I want to be a competitor in five years, I feel like it's definitely going to be a lot more difficult.
The reason is because you have a lot of young girls who come out here and play golf differently than someone who's been out here for a super long time. When you're young, you have more appreciation, you come out here and you play for fun, versus I feel like when you're a little bit older, you have more to play for. When you're young, you have less scar tissue, you just have fun with it, so I think from the mental side, that’s why you see so many young girls out here play so well and dominate.
You were young, aged 19, when you turned pro. What has changed since then?
A lot of it has to do with the fact that women’s golf has grown so much and so you see our purses going up, you see us playing better courses and you see more people following the women’s game and golf in general. With the younger generation, more young girls want to pursue a professional life in golf, they practice hard to try and achieve the goal of being out on tour.
Ten years ago, there were still a lot of very good players, and they’re all still on tour, but I think 10 years from now, you’re going to see that new generation of younger golfers who are really good, showing up on the scene and playing great golf. If you compare now to 20 years ago, competition now is definitely way more difficult.
What was the hardest thing for you to cope with as a young pro?
It's not so much that I was young. I've always been successful at every level that I've played in. Every time I set a goal for myself, I was always able to achieve it. When I came out on tour, I achieved a lot of goals during my rookie year. The second and third year on tour, when I started to struggle a little bit, it was a tough thing to accept because I had never really struggled in the past. I just kept digging a deeper hole because I was so hard on myself.
I couldn't accept missing the cut. I couldn't accept this and that, I would get really upset. It mattered so much and I didn't really have anything else to think about. That whole experience taught me so much. It has shown me that I can’t let a bad round or a bad week affect me that much, because when it does, I just continue to bury myself into a hole.
At your lowest point you seriously considered throwing the towel in. Is that true?
Oh yeah, for sure. The reason why I've talked about it a lot is because I think there are many girls that go through the same thing and they don't really like talking about it because they feel ashamed. I was definitely ashamed. It’s something everyone goes through, but it’s not spoken about because a lot of people aren’t open about it.
If you play really well, you can make a very good living, but if you don't make cuts, I mean, it's a really tough game and really expensive. Like I said, there are plenty of girls and guys out there who go through that, and some people aren't able to come forward or come through on the other side to keep their card and make money. Thankfully, I was able to do that.
What are your memories of the Solheim Cup in 2015?
Honestly, it was so long ago. I remember being really excited. I felt intimidated because the whole team was the same as the previous Solheim Cup team, except for me. I replaced Jessica Korda. I felt a bit left out, as they were all talking about stories from the previous Solheim and I was obviously a rookie. I didn’t know anybody, but they were all really welcoming and it was a lot of fun.
You've had a lot of experience playing in amateur team events including the Junior Solheim Cup, Junior Ryder Cup, Curtis Cup - and then the Solheim Cup and the Aramco Team Series as a professional. What do you enjoy most about these team events and would you like to see more?
Team events are a lot of fun. The Aramco Team Series in particular, it’s a big, happy family out here. I’ve previously won twice in this series and that gives me a lot of confidence. It puts me in a place where you’re under pressure and you see your name on the leaderboard, those things are really good for your game.
Golf is intrinsically an individual sport and it should stay that way, but it's definitely good to have a few tournaments with a team aspect once in a while. It reminds me of college golf, which is basically the same, where you have an individual champion and a team champion. It brings the girls closer together too. You definitely get to learn a lot about your playing partners and the rest of the field too. For example, as a team captain for the Aramco Team Series, I’m having to research a lot of players to find out who would be a good pick.
How do you relax when you’re away from the golf course?
I love to read, probably around 40 books a year. At the moment I’m reading a historical fiction book called The Women, which is about women in the Vietnam War. Reading really relaxes me. If I'm ever feeling anxious or nervous during a tournament week, when I read I can put myself in a different place. I take my Kindle everywhere with me.
On the general subject of women’s golf participation, have you noticed more women playing golf in the US?
There’s definitely more interest. I see younger women around my age, in their 20s and 30s, which is great. Golf is an intimidating sport to pick up versus something like tennis or pickleball, which has had a big surge. People want to start, but then they shy away because it’s really tough to go from beginner to being able to play decently, it takes a very long time and a lot of dedication for them to stick with it.
Golf fashion has helped as it has become very in tune with everyday wear. Five or ten years ago, nobody would wear a golf skirt to the grocery store. When I wore golf skirts in high school, I was so embarrassed, I would never wear them outside of the golf course. But now, people’s eyes turn to golf fashion and furthermore, this makes them pay attention to the sport.
